Jacek Muzyk is a man with courage, determination and guts. Playing the Bach Cello Suites on a french horn requires a great deal of conviction in your abilities, both as a horn player and as a musician. Never mind the fact that he's obtained various diplomas and degrees from some prestigious music schools, or has been the principal horn player in some fine orchestras, including Krystian Zimerman's Polish Festival Orchestra while they won awards touring around the world performing the Chopin Piano Concertos. Even with all these credentials under his belt, and all this performing, recording these masterworks required a huge investment in time and hard work, which I believe has paid off very well.

What we have here is nothing short of a tour de force. I have been told that it is somewhat difficult to accurately play a note, any note, on a horn with a clean and precise tone and/or pitch, let alone playing a sequence of about 300 notes that way. There is also the unavoidable fact that when these suites are played on the cello, breathing isn't even considered and is not a factor in how the music is performed, but on the horn, breathing, and especially when you breathe, is of the utmost importance and becomes an important factor in how the music is performed.

Jacek Muzyk is in full command of his instrument in this recording. The breathing, the accents, the phrasing, the different characteristics of certain key notes along the way, the nuances, dynamics, shading, etc ... everything is done so well and with no sense of strain on Muzyk's part, that sometimes you lose yourself in the genius of Bach and completely forget that these cello suites are being played on a french horn.

If you like this music and you like the french horn, you will love this cd. If you don't like the french horn, listen to this cd, it will change your opinion of this brass instrument that is often relegated to the back rows of the orchestra.

Jean-Yves Duperron